Hey Ravers
by Canyon 315
Summary: Jack meets up with a raver girl and says hello again to his raver past.
1. Chapter 1

This is a rpg between my friend Charli and I, and she and our friend Jack in Austrailia drew some excellent fanart for it, which can be found (among assorted others) here, http://www.anre.net/samsite/gallery/album49 I play Jack, Charli plays Keiko, and everyone else is NPC.  
  
Jack walked nonchalantly into the blaze of neon colored lights that covered the club in a psychedelic twist of color, seeming to fuse reality and imagination together. He was unmoved by the display of colored lights and thought back to the fields where his greatest beauty lied. He was soon interrupted by a harsh assualt of bass to the ears, but he wouldn't shrink under the attack this time, he had grown accustomed to the fierceness of today's music. How he longed for the sweet songs of his day! Not even the drums of war would produce such a harsh sound. Aku's evil had no doubt influenced such a beat, and one day Jack would be the one to stop it.  
  
This bar reminded him of the rave that he had saved the kids from months ago, but this time it was adults dressed in the strange clothes and with the odd color of hair. This world would never cease to amaze him, he would have never thought adults would be into this sort of thing. Then again, many of his predictions about what people can and cannot do in this world were proven to be wrong. This was not his time, not his place. He was an outsider, exciled here by Aku as punishment for opposing him. But not for long. He would be free of this Aku-infested world yet, it was just a matter of time.   
  
He ignored the looks of the patrons as he made his way thru the crowd to the bar. Very early on he learned to expect them at all times, and his tolerance of them grew dramatically. He sat next to a woman dressed in the same fashion as everyone else, and asked the bar tender for hot water.  
  
As the doors slid open, she looked up at the door nonchalantly. Her dark eyes were shielded from the array of colors by a neon purple visor, and she saw, much to her disbelief, the very man she had sought for so long. White gi, legendary katana...those unmistakable eyes...yes, this was definetly the one. Smiling a bit, she tossed her hair behind her and leaned against the bar, holding her chai tea in one hand. She nodded at the aliens that stood beside her, and set her tea aside, crossing her arms over her chest. Her attire was not out of the ordinary...baggy black bellbottoms hung lowly about her hips, held precariously but tastefully low on her hips, and her top was covered down to her stomach by a small black shirt that bore a simple kanji across the chest. Her arms were bedecked in a loose assortment of bangles, and she smiled a bit as he took a seat beside her.  
  
"Hey there, samurai," she replied, and leaned on one elbow, letting her bracelets dangle carelessly from her wrists. "You're certainly one to dress conspicuously...you must be used to living dangerously..." She smiled faintly in a way that might've reminded some of a certain warrior woman from this samurai's past, and called for the bartender. "Here...let me buy you a drink..."  
  
Jack sweatdropped. He was never good with women, only having two pleasant expierances with them: his friend Keiko from his homeland when they were children, and the CDF sisters in the jet repair shop. Ikra and Josie were evil, and the Scotsman's Wife... let's not say anything about her in case she can somehow hear this. In this kind of place, who knows where her loyalities could lie, and how far she would go to conceal the truth from him. No, it was better to immediately take her as a threat then to have his heart torn again. Still, her smile brought back the memories of long lost summer days where innocence and wonder chased locusts under the protective watch of the kamis of Japan. 'Neveretheless, you don't know what she could be, so it is better to play it safe,' He reminded himself.  
  
"No, thank you ma'am. It is alright, I have it," He said, faltering a bit. Self-consciously, he poured the tea leaves into the cup before adding the water, making sure she didn't pull a trick on him.  
  
"Well...have it your way then," she replied, and offered him one last alluring smile before turning back to her own chai tea. "I was merely offering a bit of my hospitality, but..." She trailed off, and though her back was turned to him, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Certainly, someone else...someone less than savory, would notice him soon...and for that ,she was dually prepared.  
  
"HEY! Samurai!" came a coarse, overly masculine voice from the middle of the bar, "Aku's got a lot of money on your head, and I aim to make that googaplex and split it with my buddies and me!" He laughed hideously, and she groaned. They would never learn, would they...  
  
"Gentlemen," she replied, leaning up against the bar in a stance very much like a rogue mercenary, "Such manners...but then, space pirates have no manners...I should know; I've fought many who were in the way of my goal..."  
  
'I'm sorry,' Jack mentally apologized to her. 'I can't trust anyone anymore, not with that bounty over my head.'  
  
"HEY! Samurai!" Called a rough voice from behind.  
  
'Speak of the devil.' He finished his tea with one gulp, left some coins on the countertop, and with a disgusted sigh, spun his seat around so he was facing them. Mentally, he yawned hearing their speech, who hasn't said it before?   
  
For one thing, the woman's was new; while they were roughish brutes, she was a lady. However, Ikra and Josie were ladies too. 'I knew it! She wanted to poison me when she offered me my drink and collect on the money herself. But I'll show her... no one makes a fool out of me.'  
  
The bartender ducked as the men grabbed their guns and opened fire. With lightning quick moves, he got to safety, jumped into the air, and landed with a heel kick straight to the leader's face. He stuck out his sword and said, "Come and get me."  
  
Whoa! He moved like lightening! Hopping up onto the top of the bar as the fight begun, she watched Jack nail the leader with a well-placed kick, then waited until the fight had strayed to the foyer outside. Putting her hands on her hips, she smiled confidently. They would never learn, would they?  
  
"Oi! He went that way!" the wounded leader yelled as he rubbed his swollen, bruised eye. He pointed erratically towards the door, and several of his minions leapt after the nimble samurai, their large clumsey blasters ready for the kill. They burst upon him, aiming their blasters...  
  
She laughed to herself and tossed a few coins to the bartender before hopping nimbly down from the countertop and rushing out a back door where her speeder sat. There were things to take care of...  
  
Jack smirked at the crowd of thugs and brutes that gathered in front of him. With amazing accuracy, he counted 24, the missing one their leader still inside. He could take them, an army of beetle drones would be more of a challenge. The blasters, no matter how up to date, were no match to Jack's speed as he dodged everyone, and the metal provided no defense from Jack's katana cutting thru them like butter. Everything was going fantastic, but Jack was too wrapped up in his fight to detect the growing swarm of fresh bounty hunters eager to take claim to his head behind him.  
  
THe engine revved magnificently; it hadn't taken her *too* long to get used to the unnatural speed of a land speeder. Furrowing her brow a bit, she peeled out of the crowded parking lot and sped off into the night. The wind blew past her ears, ruslting her ebony hair behidn her as she drove closer to the brawl..and she reached behind her, readying her weapon. She strapped it on with an effortless movement of her hand, and grinned to herself.  
  
Perfect.  
  
Meanwhile, the swarm was preparing an ambush...several were creeping stealthily from the shadows as the samrai battled in the neon glow of the lights, unaware that he would soon meet his Fate...  
  
As the orginal gang of bounty hunters lost members as they ran, or never would again, the new one smiled evilly to themselves, waiting for the moment when Jack would be off his gaurd, and Aku's thorn in his side would finally be pulled. The leader was thrown out onto the pavement by angry bar patrons. They didn't need a fight during their one chance a week to relax and let loose. "Kill him!" The leader cheered on his men, though it failed to do anything for them. As the last one fell, Jack shook the sweat from the loose strands of hair that had come to rest against his forehead like a claw.  
  
"NOW!!" The men shouted from behind, and Jack turned to see a mob of men ready and willing to take him down. He resigned himself to his fate and waited for their first move, had not an arm reached out and pulled him to safety onto the back of a speeder. He could hear the curses of the hunters behind, and breathed a sigh of relief.   
  
She sped by and with an agile hand, reached out and nabbed him from the fight. Setting him haphazardly but firmly on the speeder, she zoomed down the crowded street, smiling to herself.   
  
"Quite a close call there, Samurai! You should learn to watch your back a bit more carefully next time!" she called, looking over her shoulder at him. Her dark eyes shined with an unplacable light, and she pushed her hair aside, revealing a long, skillfully slung katana against her back.   
  
Hey! She was the woman who sat next to him in the bar! 'But I though she was a lone wolf mercenary,' as always, he failed to predict this world once more. Her Japanese features astounded him, rarely did he have the privledge to meet one, but the most surprising thing of all was her katana. In an age where technology had taken over, to see a sword was a rare privledge, especially one such as this. Even sheathed, it still radiated the aura of the Japan Jack knew and loved so much. "Thank you for saving me," He said, though he wasn't completely convinced yet she was a friend. "Tell me, what is your name?'  
  
Smiling faintly, she nodded. "No need to thank me, Jack," she replied, and with a sudden jerk of the speeder, she turned the speeder around and began to rush forward, back towards the fray. "As for my name..." she tossed her hair into the wind and reached up, moving her visor away from her eyes briefly. "You may call me Keiko."   
  
Offering a grin, she reached back and pulled the sword from its scabbard, bringing it expertly to bear. "Come now...This isn't any time for pleasantries; we have a mess to clean up! Shall we?"  
  
"Yes," He drew his sword and prepared himself to turn these fools to mincemeat. Figuring her out would have to come later. He was safe, for now.   
  
One of the men laughed cruelly as they came back, "Here they come, fellas! Kill the samurai, but save the biker chick! She's the first of the bounty feast."  
  
All the men chuckled evilly, happy at their leader's announcement.   
  
"Go!" He barked as the bike came close. The men piled around it like a dogfight but Jack and Keiko were expecting them. Swords flew with an air of dance and poise as angry shouts and curses filled the night air. Blood and oil littered the ground, marking the path of the motorcycle. Jack couldn't help but smile as Keiko, she was a great warrior!  
  
Narrowing her eyes as they jeering at her, she sneered at them. Uncouth heathens...how dare they say such things. With a great hiss of steam the bike came to a stop and she leapt without question, somersaulting through the air, blade spinning. Her agile, nimble form twisted elegantly in the old ways of the martial arts, and she came down with her blade tobear, her voice shouting angrily at them in a language that was once thought long dead...  
  
"Take me for a feast, will you?!" she cried, and spun, a deadly dance of knives. "You'll find that I don't taste as sweet to the barbaric, uncouth tongue!"  
  
A blur of black against the neon lights spun about, and blood mingled with oil on her blade ashe finally landed expertly, a few feet from where Jack fought.  
  
Jack sweatdropped watching her. She was amazing! He would love to someday face her in a sparring match, and he wouldn't be surprised if she beat him. It was wonderful to have her as an ally, for he was sure this girl from the future was indeed a friend. Her language certainly rivaled the way she dressed, but it only added more nobilty to her. She was the samurai of the future.  
  
After spinning around, her heeled boots moving amazingly well for their make, she held thesword aloft and saw Jack, looking quite amazed.   
  
And quite oblivious to the mob coming up behind him. Gasping, she stood up fully and leapt.  
  
"Jack, watch yourself!" she cried, and pirouetted in the air, spinning her blade. She landed, and three of the mob fell at her feet. She looked over at Jack now that they stood back to back, and smiled. "You should watch your back more carefully, Samurai," she said with a smile. "Now...let's blow this popsicle stand; what do you say?" she asked with a grin.  
  
Jack shook his head and snapped out of it. He couldn't get distracted in battle, how many times was he taught that?! Especially by a woman, his senseis always said, never get too close to a woman! Dangerous creatures they were! Well this was one dangerous creature he wanted to get to know a lot better. There was something about her that was so alluring, so intoxicating about her. She was beautiful, and had the air about her of both modern women and those of his homeland. It was wonderful!  
  
" What is this 'popsicle stand?' " He asked, still ignorant of much of the world, "But if what you mean is we leave, then yes." He grinned sheepishly.  
  
Hmm. Good point. She had never quite understood the popsicle stand comment either...but, it seemed to apply to the club currently. "The club, Samurai...we're getting out of here," she said with a smile and a wink. "And all that it implies...Go!"   
  
With a cry of defiance in her native language, she leapt forward, and this time, she mixed a few well-placed kicks with her katana swings. Oh, how exhilerating it was to finally fight side by side with the legendary samurai...After so long, she'd finally caught up with him.  
  
Jack smiled in victory as the last of the men went down, leaving only the leader with a black eye that he had nailed earlier. With a confidence in his stride, he knocked the man down to the ground with a punch to the jaw. The man wiped away the blood that now spewed from his lip, glaring at Jack and his raver friend.   
  
Jack placed a geta on his torso and pushed down, eager to hear the man's cry of pain. "Now get this thru your thick head," Jack said harsly, increasing the pressure on the man's chest. "I am not some animal that you can bring down. I am the greatest warrior that ever lived, and no one will ever bring me down." He thrust the hilt of his sword onto the man's head, knocking him out. Jack sheathed his sword, and with a smile said, "Yes, let us blow this popsicle stand!"  
  
Laughing, she nodded and leapt astride her speeder. "Hop on, Jack, and we'll be out of here in no time flat!" She revved the engine smartly and sheathed her blade upon her back, and tossed her hair away from her sweat-sheened face.   
  
She smiled at him as he finished his business, and inwardly sighed. After all these years...Yes, well..this was something she refused to dwell on just yet.   
  
With the hearty laugh of one who conquered, he jumped onto the back of the cycle, held on to Keiko, and smiled wildly as she took off faster then a cheetah. The ground blurred together in a mass of black pavement and the streetlights turned to wild streaks of comets that chased them in their travels. He thought he had died and gone to heaven as her hair flew wildly behind her, but gently licked his face. It was strands of silk that was the crowning glory of such a beautiful woman. How he enjoyed this so... his hands slid from her sides down to connect over her torso, enjoying the closeness.  
  
As the landscape flew past, turning from technology to countryside, she closed her eyes, enjoying the freedom of not having a road to follow...only a goal. Sighing a bit as the wind whipped against her, she became aware of a certain closeness behind her. Adrenaline shot through her system and she jumped in surprise, nearly swerving erratically as she drove. But she caught herself just in time, and remembered the part of herself that, once, would've been comfortable with this...She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against his, smiling...  
  
Then she remembered herself.  
  
"...Oh! Jack; are...er..." she began to sound a bit flustered; the first time she had lost her cool in his presense. "Er...Jack...are you uncomfortable with speeder rides...rest assured I can slow down; you needn't hold on so tightly..."  
  
Jack's face turned a bright red as he loosened his hold on her, placing his hands back on her sides, barely at that, the boy was so nervous. "I... um... sorry about that. I'm perfectly fine with this speed... oh crap." He dropped his head into his hand, kicking himself mentally for what he did. Her hair still flew into his face, and he was happy about that.  
  
She laughed gently and shook her head. "Not to worry; no harm done," she replied, and was quite glad that he couldn't see the rather attractice shade of pink that her ivory face was turning. The sun was beginning to rise now, and the morning light bathed her features, clarifying what had been shrouded in darkness the night previous... 


	2. Author's Notes

Author's Note: When Charli and I started this fic last May, we both agreed we needed a chapter between the first and the next one, but we were in a hurry to start the next chapter, and sadly we never wrote this chapter. I'll ask her if we will rp this chapter or if I should write my own just so this fic will flow better. Sorry about this!! *blush* 


	3. Chapter 3

Keiko leaned against the side of the wall, looking towards the club where the loud thumping music was coming from. There was a great mass of people there, and they were all dressed for the occasion. Furrowing her brow, she turned to Jack and appraised him with her eyes, smiling.  
  
"You'll stick out really badly if you wear your gi inside," she replied, and looked thoughtful. "Don't you have anything else you might be able to wear?" She gave him a quizzical look, not realizing that she had called what all futuristic people called a bathrobe by its proper name. "We can't have anyone alerted to the fact that we're there...Aku is nearby, after all, and it would mean disaster for getting u-you home to the past..."   
  
With Keiko's help, he learned to tolerate techno music, though he could never learn to like it. The throbbing bass meant nothing to him, nor the teens and adults who would be inside. The one thing he cared about was a back room that was said to hold a door to Aku's castle. That was his goal, and nothing would stop him from obtaining it  
  
"You'll stick out really badly if you wear your gi inside," she replied, and looked thoughtful. "Don't you have anything else you might be able to wear?"   
  
Gi? Not bathrobe, dress, pajamas? How did she know this? "Yes, I have an outfit." He brought out a tight bunble, hid behind a tree, and dressed in his old Rave outfit, minus the hat, binky, and monkey backpack. He lost those in the fight with Skybator. He felt self-concious of his appearance, wondering if it was suitable for Keiko's vast knowledge of the future. "How do I look?"   
  
She had turned around to help preserve Jack's dignity and her own modesty, then, when he spoke for her approval, she turned and, expecting something completely outrageous...found herself impressed instead. As she took in his appearance with approving eyes, she smiled and nodded, quite pleased.  
  
"Magnificent," she commended, and walked up to him, straightening his lime visor on the bridge of his nose and smiling warmly at him. "Now...let's get over there to the club...We have a destiny to meet...But remember," she replied, and stopped him with a gentle hand. "We have to blend...dancing and everything. I understand you do not bear a great love for the music...but we have no choice." Smiling a bit, she led him from the alley where they had been hidden and slipped an arm through his. She only hoped that the top knot he wore wouldn't give himself away. They had been able to conceal the sword easily enough...  
  
He nodded and followed her in. It was an all-too familar sight, but he was glad that tonight would be the last of it. Once they entered the room with the portal, Aku was as good as dead, and he could return home to where he belonged.  
  
'But what about Keiko?' His mind nagged, and it made Jack think a minute. There was no doubt he would miss her, he had grown very fond of his friend. But he wasn't sure if she would be willing to travel back in time with him, and learn a whole new culture just for him. It would be hard, and he wasn't sure how his people would accept her. He sighed and decided to think about it later. Right now he had a mission to accomplish. His eyes scanned the area and found a lone door in the back of the club. "We should dance our way over there to avoid suspicsion," He said. He focused on the song the DJ was playing, A-teen's remake of ABBA's "Gimme Gimme Gimme", found the beat, and started to bust a move in time with the music.  
  
Nodding as she saw the door, she agreed that it would be rather suspiscious to just walk over there. But as the song began to thump heavily in her ears, she found herself in an alien world. She watched Jack in amazement, enthralled by how well he could capture the beat...he blended perfectly..while she, in all her years of sitting in clubs such as these awaiting clues for the samurai's wherabouts..had never danced...  
  
"Er..." she began, looking a bit uneasy. She could grasp a beat as well as anyone, but...She looked up at Jack in slight embaressment, and looked a bit nervous. "I...I don't know this beat as well!" she covered, looking around quickly.  
  
Jack chuckled, "Do not worry, I will help you." He grasped her hands and slowly demonstrated his moves, helping her until she knew what she was doing. "I know I say I don't like this music, but I can dance to it. Besides, there is something... very appealing about this song. It is different then many other songs I have heard. Don't you agree?" He stood in front of her and began to dance again, watching her to see if she got it right.  
  
Looking incredibly embaressed that he had to help her, she nevertheless let him take her hands and lead her onto the dance floor. One side of her was horribly embaressed and wanted to run from the dance floor, but the side of her that was dressed for the occasion told her that she couldn't do that. She listened to him speak, and was glad that instead of being amused at her lack of knowledge, he was reassuring.  
  
"Yes...it is much different from many songs that I've heard played at such places," she replied as the lights suddenly flicked out and a slash of colored lights and strobe effects lit up the dance floor. Glow sticks of various colors whirled in the darkness, and the press of bodies dancing to the heady beat surrounded her...As she watched Jack, illuminated in flashes as he danced, she began to tap her foot to the beat, getting the rhythm in her head. It was quite sudden when she glanced to her side, saw another couple dancing, and fell in perfect step with Jack's moves.   
  
He smiled at her, "That's it, you got it!" He followed her lead for a while, then noticed how beautiful she was. Her lithe body moving seamlessly in her dance, her clothes revealing enough to keep him drooling, the neon lights illuminating her in a beautiful unearthly glow, as if she was some kind of rave goddess. His best friend, but she was so much more. Giving in to his desires, he started dancing closer to her, and a little more suggestively in moves.  
  
Smiling up at his encouraging words as the lights flashed on and off, she met his eyes, and found herself unable to tear them away. As he came nearer to her, she relished in his closeness and closed her eyes, leaning her head slightly back. She did keep her eyes somewhat open so that she could always look upon him...fearing that this might be their last moment together for a long time. The beat seemed to permeate through them both, and she stepped a bit closer, their bodies touching slightly with each move. Raising her arms, she smiled slightly at him and kept up with his deeper movements, not letting herself slip again. Her hair moved about her with each movement ,gracing her face and moving across her shoulders.   
  
"Jack," she started, but stoped before she could say anything. Why break the moment? Pulling him somewhat closer, she began to move them acorss the dance floor, but she did not diminish their movements and rhythm.  
  
He placed a finger on her lips, silencing her. "Just enjoy this," He whispered. He too was worried this was the last time they would really see each other, and he didn't want to bring it down with fears for their future. Concentrating on the here and now was his one concern for her now. He relished the closeness and smiled at her, with his whole face radiating his joy. In the very back of his mind, he wished this dance would never end, so he and Keiko would remain together forever.  
  
The lingering sensation of his finger against her lips caused her to instinctivly lick her lips in a slow manner...Yes...she would miss his company very much. He was a voice of reason in a world that was utterly insane...a calm eye in the midst of this futuristic storm...Yes indeed, she would miss him. Taking a slightly shuddered breath, she closed her eyes and danced against him, refusing the distraught tears passage. She closed her eyes for but a moment, her head tilted back and pale, ivory neck bared. The yin yang choker that decorated her throat flashed in the lights, and she met his gaze from the corner of her dark eyes, a hidden meaning in her eyes.   
  
He raised an eyebrow at her slowly seductive licking of her lips, then shrugged it off. Their dance, which was once two dances echoing each other, was now an in sync movment of one as intricate dance steps moved between them. Without a spoken word, they danced beautifully, each taking over when one stopped. It was, quite literally, poetry in motion.  
  
Theirs was a flurry was perfectly executed moves; perfect and yet unlike any other on the dance floor...they were using their own knowledge of balance and grace to dance to one another...It was hard to think that such a perfect match would, at the break of dawn the next morning, would be broken...but Keiko knew beter. He would be home and happy, and if he was happy, then that was all she cared about. He could not stay here in a future that was so cruel...he deserved much more than it could offer him. So, tonight she would dance and offer him a last happy moment in this future before he returned home...for when he saw her again, he would not know her for who she really was.  
  
As the last heavy beats finished playing, she slowed, breathless. Her face was flushed, but she did not want to stop. She absently rested her hands against his broad, reassuring shoulders, and lowered her head for a moment before raising her eyes and meeting his gaze. Then came the next few chords of the next song. It was a slowly rising, ethereal sound, with a subtly rising beat...and them came the words. Keiko looked up; it was such a change to her ears...She knew these words...when no one else but Jack did...  
  
Jack slowed to a stop as the song ended. He breathed heavily as he smiled at her, their dance was exhillerating. She was magnificant in her dance, so artistic in her moves. He hated to admit it, but this was the second thing of this world that he would miss terribly, the first being Keiko herself. 'I should stay here with her,' the thought popped unwillingly into his mind. He shook his head, how dare he think of such things! His duty was to destroy Aku and return to the past, to where he belonged. But... he belonged in her arms. He knew that now, and he couldn't escape his destiny.  
  
The new song distracted him from his thoughts, and he panicked for a second. He thought it would be another song similar to his first rave, the kind of song he despised and refused to dance to with Keiko, especially not on their last dance together. But as the song continued, it turned out to be a J-pop song called "Rhythm Emotion." This time, she was able to dance with him without guidance as they took off together. He listened to the words and realized how they echoes his own thoughts and feelings, and translated them for her. "It's OK if I get hurt. I want to live passionately and intensely, without turning my eyes away. Because it was you who gave me the strength to never give up, I want to embrace you."  
  
Raising her eyes as he translated needlessly, she smiled and put a finger to his lips, silencing him. Listening sielntly for a moment, she did not translate, but sang with the Japanese for a moment; a code that only he and she could understand.   
  
"Sou... shinayaka ni ima wo suhada de uketomete motto yasashisa mitsuketai yo...subete ga kirameite'ta osanai hi no kiseki torimodoshite!"  
  
Yes; she knew these words...Her native tongue; too long absent from her lips...The song was ironic, beautifully and painfully ironic...In the break of words as the music took voer, she smiled. "I need no translations," she assured him softly, and continued the moves. She glanced sideways for but a moment, and saw the door was close...very close...  
  
He smiled, she knew the beauty of their language as did he. This hellish future would never make them forget their history. He relished the touch of her skin against his lips, wanting more with such a blaze of desire within his heart. He decided to let the lyrics speak for him as he stood closer to her, his hands holding her body close as he lost himself in the extacy of her very being. He saw the glance to the door, and was torn between wanting to go in and destroy Aku and staying here with her, dancing away the night. "Not yet," He whispered softly, a hint of sadness and longing in his voice, "After the song." He brushed away a bead of sweat that began to trickle down her face, lingering there, and sang,. "I just feel "Rhythm Emotion." otagai no setsunasa kanjiai wakeaeru nukumori wo shinjite'ru I just feel "Rhythm Emotion" kono kiss de tashika na jounetsu wo tsutaetai so far away..."   
  
"I just feel the Rhythm Emotion...The beat of my heart reaches out to you, so far away..." she repeated, and as the song wound to a close, she looked up at him with an equally torn gaze...there was something hidden behind her eyes...something she refused to tell....but in an instant, it was gone, and she leaned closer to him. "So far away..." she repeated, and let her hands fall upon his shoulders gently.  
  
"I just feel the Rhythm Emotion... The beat of my heart  
  
reaches out to you, so far away..." He sang with her in beautiful unison, their voices as one just as their dance.   
  
He loved her. This hidden feeling in his heart, the reason she was so important to him and why he regretted leaving her so soon. "So far away..." he repeated with her, and at last his heart won over his head. He leaned in to kiss her, though he moved hesitantly, as if he was fighting himself not to do what he wanted most, as well as seal his want to remain here forever.  
  
By Musubi...was this what the gods wanted? Or were they simply toying with them...would the great deities be so cruel? But she remembered...not all was lost...the path would merely be hidden for a while...softly, she reached up to meet his lips, her long forgotten side of softness returning in a swift moment of remembrance...  
  
Suddenly, a horrible, ethereal sound of movement erupted from the pit beyond the dimness, and a great rush of wind swept them into the brightly lit room. The fiery door slammed shut, and a horrible, painfully familiar laugh echoed across the chamber. Gasping, Keiko broke away from Jack's arms and looked up into the wicked eyes of the vile demon.   
  
"Aku..." she breathed under her breath, her fists clenching. It had been many long years since she had even met the demon...and now she was here one last time...  
  
Just before they could meet and Jack would know pure extacy, they were rushed thru the door and into Aku's malicous Pit of Hate. He held Keiko protectively against his body before they stopped, and the eyes of hell glanced upon them. He heard her gasp in fear as she broke away, and drew his sword with a vengence. "Today you die, Aku."  
  
Aku looked morbidly amused at the sight he had just come upon, and burst into another peal of malevolent laughter. His great form loomed over them, and as he took in the sight of the two intruders, he began to taunt them.   
  
"Well well well...look what I happened to stumble upon," he began, his voice dripping with malicious delight, "So, Samurai...you have found another not so unlike yourself!" He turned his eyes to Keiko and narrowed them. He saw the swords that they both held upon their back...then he looked closer at her. Looking mildly surprised, he grinned. What irony! "Yes! Of course...I remember her...the little girl who came to me under a vow of vengeance for her father...I remember you both quite well..." He said then, then continued to taunt them, his words painfully teasing. "Your father..a pathetic excuse for a samurai...he knew not the might of the all-powerful Aku...and nor do you..."  
  
He narrowed his eyes; like himself, Aku killed her father, she went to avenge him, and failed. He wondered if he had grown weary of heoric deeds such as that and simply brushed off those who tried, and somehow survived the encounter. Though he didn't know her father, he was certain he was a fine warrior, capable of victory, but he knew no regular sword could hurt the demon, only those forged in righteousness.   
  
"We shall see..." He growled, leapt high into the air, and brough the sword down hard on Aku. He landed in front of Keiko in a defensive position; if he touched one hair on her head, he was dead. Now was the time their dance was to be turned into the fight for their lives, their love, and their world.  
  
"No..." she said softly, and stepped forward past Jack, tossing her violet vizor aside. Her dark eyes were uncovered in the light, and she furrowed her brow in anger. "I will not permit you to speak of my father in such a manner...you will pay your retributions for your sins..." Her voice was somehow different now...the manner in which she spoke...the accent that had suddenly and so easily taken over her words...She clenched her fists at her sides, her fingers clutching the hilt of her katana tightly. "You have tormented these innocents long enough...kill us if you may, but will will not die until we have freed both the past and the future of your vile tyrrany!"  
  
Looking back at Jack, her eyes filled with determination, she smiled slightly. "He will not escape this night..."  
  
He sweatdropped madly. He had never seen her before without the visor on, and she was more beautiful then ever! Yet something was strangely familar about her face that brought back visions of his past, but he could not place her face. Her voice, it was slipping from modern raver girl with a heart of gold to a Japanese girl from his kingdom. Everything about her was shedding to seriously remind him of the women from his past. Though she still wore her raver oufit, he could easily imagine a long flowing gi tied to her with an obi, her boots replaced by geta, but her long hair still flowed down her back, wild and free in the wind. A mane to complete her image as a female samurai of his day. Could it be?  
  
He nodded in angreement and shook his head free of thoughts, he had to concentrate on battle or he would die.  
  
Aku laughed and looked at her. "You both have amanged to survive in this future of mine...but now I will smite you I should have smited you those many years ago..."  
  
Suddenly, the room was filled with black as Aku began to assert his nearly infinite power. He was quite a foe to be reckoned with...but not invincible. Furrowing her brow, Keiko took a step back, then began to run forward. The echo of her boots against the brimstone filled up the spaces of sound left by Aku's shapeshifting, and she leapt, hair flying. She moved lithely in the air, and though she knew she could do very little, if anything, she fought with all she could. There was no margin for error...  
  
Jack followed her into the air, and took advantage as she distracted Aku from him. He knew how dangerous it was for her to be doing this, her sword didn't have the power to beat Aku, but he was eternally grateful for her. He would never allow him to hurt her, for her cry of pain Aku would let one loose of his own, ten times greater.  
  
She was but a distraction, she knew this. Jack held the real power, but if she could keep Aku's attention away from Jack at key moments, Jack would have a better chance. She swung her blade at him, spinning in the air, and managed to get Aku to swat at her. He knocked her slightly, tossing her off-balance, and as she landed on a ledge, she stumbled. The boots weren't proper...they kept her from catching proper footing...  
  
Crying out slightly as she staggered forward and caught herself, she turned around just as Aku knelt to swat her away again. Fear crossed her eyes briefly, but she glared and swung her blade, catching Aku offguard but not stopping him. The strength of his slap sent her against the wall a few feet away, dazing her slightly. But after she heard Jack's shout and Aku's first cry of pain..she knew she had to remedy her footing problem. Standing and hurrying across the chamber, she kicked her boots off as quickly as possible and managed to pull her other, formerly only pair of shoes from a satchel she carried, and slipped them on without any effort. Suddenly, the sound of boots was replaced by the furious and familiar clacking of wooden sandals, and she ran for the battle once again. She refused to give up so easily.   
  
Jack turned for a half a second when he heard the clicks of a second pair of geta, and saw Keiko wearing them. It didn't surprise him much, the family at the Tengu No Jet shop wore geta though they were modern. He was still worried for her, but he had hope she would be OK. She was a fantastic warrior, and he was watching her back all the time.  
  
"Very cute, girl, very cute," Aku sneered at her new footwear. "But it won't be enough to save you." He slammed her against a wall and held her there, laughing malicously at his deed.  
  
"KEIKO!! I'll kill you for this Aku!!" Jack slashed as his arm, but before it could be severed from his body, he transformed into...  
  
Keiko gasped as his hand pushed her forcibly against the wall. Her blade dropped to the brimstone floor near Jack with a clatter; the strange symbol that was emblazoned on the blade glimmering slightly in the firelight. THe breath was knocked from her lungs and she struggled as Jack leapt towards the demon...the vicous oni...But as Jack leapt, Aku began to change. She struggled against his mighty grip and choked from the lack of oxygen. She had very little air, and she darkened her eyes.  
  
"Defeat him...! You must...return to the past and free our homeland!" she choked. Coughing, she took a rough breath, her face still defiant. "Harutomo-Make him pay for his tyranny!"  
  
Jack gasped when he saw her struggling for air against his hold; if this lasted much longer, she would die. He gripped his sword and knew the final blow would come NOW!! But Keiko's words stalled him only a moment.  
  
"Harutomo-Make him pay for his tyranny!"  
  
Jack froze in mid-thrust when he heard his name from her lips. 'HOW?! How does she know that? I never told anyone, ANYONE!! It's always been Jack, that is what I've been called for so long. She... Keiko, she... She is from the past! Just like me! We can go home together, and I won't be alone!'   
  
With a victorious smile, he jabbed the sword deep into Aku and rearranged his insides.   
  
"Curse you, Samurai! CURSE YOU!!" Aku shouted with the last of his strength as his body fell apart into black goo that sunk into the bowels of the pit.   
  
He ran over to Keiko and laid her head on his lap, "Keiko, Keiko?! Please say you're alright! I love you! I can't lose you, I love you!!"  
  
Slightly dazed and breathless but otherwise alright, she coughed hoarsely and managed to sit up with his aid. Shaking her head, she blinked a few times and reached for her blade, which sat a few feet from them both. Pulling it towards her, she turned her gaze up to Jack and handed him her blade.   
  
"Forgive me for decieving you...I could not cloud our minds with this knowledge...but now you must know..." Turning the blade over, she revealed the insignia born by those of the Imperial family. "My father...Toshiro...was an Honor Guard in the service of your honorable father...I wanted to seek vengence for his death...I failed at first...but you have helped me complete my task in completing yours..." She smiled as he told her of his love, and she closed her eyes. "I know...I love you as well...but we must hold off on the pleasantries until we have returned...The portal...Aku's dath will have opened it...all his power will be drained and seperated; the portal will only be open for a short time..."  
  
As she spoke, a great flash of black and white illuminated the room, and a circle formed at the edge of the ledge. It hummed with an ethereal glow, and she smiled at him. "We can return...together..."  
  
Her voice was no longer laced with the harsh slang and accent of the people of the future..but soft and subdued, like that of the soft spring winds through the sakura grove...the wash of the Sea of Japan against the shores...it spoke of the past...  
  
He nodded and took her hand, "Together." With a confidence in their step, they left the hellish world together for one much calmer and brighter, one world that they knew of together. With a blinding light they entered, he held her portectively so as not to lose her. When they could see again, they were outside the edges of the kingdom. Despite the tragic sight of what horrors had been done to their home, he was happy just to be back, and knew with their help, the land would once again return to her beautiful self.  
  
The trip seemed to take an eternity and yet it took no time at all...it was sudden when she felt herself fall from the sky and into a mess of tangled, overgrown fields in what used to be crops. Groaning slightly as she sat up, she looked around and suddenly stood, her heart racing.  
  
Could it be...after all her years of searching...after all their trials...She turned to Jack, tears in her eyes. "We are home..." she said and slowered her eyes. "I never thought I would say those words...but we must go. There is work to be done...you must fight Aku...I will prepare our people...by the dawn of tomorrow morning...our people will be free...and so will the future be..." Stepping up to him, she met his eyes and leaned her head against his.   
  
"The future is ours, to live and love together," He whispered, kissing away her tears. "But you are right, we need to destroy Aku once and for all." He embraced her tightly. "But first, I need to finish what we started back at the club, and I won't take no for an answer." With no hesitation this time, he kissed her soft on the lips, but deepened as the need for her grew. He was so worried he would lose her back in the battle, and he had to show her how much.  
  
Smiling as they finally had a moment to reflect upon the past several weeks that they had spent together, she closed her eyes and accepted the kiss. And this time, there was no Aku present to destroy it. She embraced him tightly as their lips touched...so many years of searching, culminating on the brink of success and utopia...It was all she had wanted as a child...  
  
Pulling away from his kiss but slightly, she breathed slightly against him and sighed gently. "I wish this moment could linger for a moment longer...but we have no time to waste...we will meet again tonight...in the old field by the river, where the guardian statues still stand...Before you fight Aku, there is something I must give you so that you will have luck." Kissing him one last time on the lips, she smiled. "Will you meet me there?"  
  
He smiled at her as she broke away, and held on to her still. "Do not worry, soon we have all the time in the world for moments so beautiful to linger. I will meet you there tonight, victorious and free." He kissed her one last time before going off to meet his destiny.  
  
Smiling sweetly, she turned and began to dash off for the forsaken mines. As she passed through the piles of rubble and through the long dead grasses, she felt a swell of hatred for Aku and of pride in her determination and iron will of her people...  
  
"Soon...before the breaking of dawn tomorrow...we shall be free," she replied, and quickly hid behind some bushes. She waited for the Taskmasters to pass, and began to work dilligently. First came the leather pants; so long a part of routine..now, thankfully, she would never need them again. She worked quickly; the sun was setting soon, and before she spoke with Jack again, she needed to visit her mother...and the Emperor...  
  
As the soft, lightweight cotton yukata slid onto her slender form, she tied the obi and smiled in relief. Such freedom of movement...simple and yer elegant...She held her father's sword before her eyes for a moment, then slid it safely under an outcrapping of rock to retrieve it later...As she stepped from the bush, she appeared a different person..and yet the same. The same determination filled her eyes, and as she slipped into the mines, she knew that she would leave them...free...  
  
Jack ducked into the woods and removed his Raver clothes for the last time. From now on, no foerigin garment will defile his body, only those of Japanese origin. He decided to perform a burial ceremony later, and his his adventures in the future for good. Once more his gi touched his body sofly, and an obi tied it together. His feet were no longer imprisoned by sneakers, but where allowed to breathe in geta. "I'm coming, Aku, and I will win." 


End file.
